Harpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and Devil
by Izzy
Summary: The sequel to "A Year to Remember". Gabrielle, Elaine, two American witches, and the old Maruading spirit.
1. Swanneck and Devil

Harpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and DevilHarpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and Devil or The Lady Marauders By Izzy Prologue 

Alexandria, Virginia, June 1998 

It was the last day of fifth grade. 

As was typical for the last day, the teacher was not attempting to keep any order. The students lounged about the classrooms, many of them talking excitedly about the middle schools they would be going to. By one of the windows a chair had been pushed up, and girl sat in it, her knees propped up to her chin, staring out the window. She was a very pretty girl, with black hair pulled into a ponytail and dark brown eyes. Her name was Gina Livingston. 

Gina's report card was shoved between her legs and her chest. She'd take it home for her mother to see, then would forget about it. The important thing was that she didn't get all As, but she didn't flunk. The following year, she would go off to middle school. 

She'd heard bad things about the middle school. Just the previous year, there had been a major incident, and the principal had either been dismissed, quit, or retired, depending on who you asked. She'd overheard her parents discussing whether she'd be safe there. 

"Hey." Gina turned her head to look at her best friend, Aimie Grove. Aimie had dark brown rather soft-looking hair and even darker eyes. "I need to talk to you about something." 

"What is it?" 

"Not here, we can't be overheard." 

Reluctently Gina pulled herself out of her chair and followed Aimie out of the classroom, stopping to tell the teacher they were going to the bathroom. "Where are we going?" 

"Outside," answered Aimie. "Into the woods." 

"We not allowed to go there!" protested Gina. 

"There's nothing they can do to us," said Aimie firmly, "and we really can't be overheard." 

_What can be this serious?_ wondered Gina. Aimie meanwhile led her out of the building, along the fence that marked the edge of the playground, and through the opening that led into the woods behind the school. 

The trail led downhill, and a brief amount of walking left the school barely in sight. Here Aimie stopped. "Now, Gina, we've been friends since kindergarden, right?" 

"Right," said Gina, confused. 

"And you know I would never keep something from you unless I had a very good reason to." 

"Yes, why, have you?" 

"Well, yes. I really wanted to tell you this earlier, but my parents insisted I wait until now. Gina, what would you think if I told you I was a witch, and that you were one as well?" 

"Well..." started Gina, even more confused, "I wouldn't think you were being serious. And anyway, you'd never say that, would you?" 

"I'm saying it now," replied Aimie. "And I'm being very serious. We're both witches." 

Gina just stared. Had her friend lost her head? 

"When I said I wanted to tell you," continued Aimie, sounding perfectly sane, "I meant for years. I've known, you see, ever since we first met. Remember how that happened?" 

Gina nodded, deciding to play along until she had determined whether her friend had lost it or not. "I remember. You accidently knocked me off the monkey bars. You apologised yourself to death. What does that have to do with it?" 

"You're forgetting the most important detail. You glared up at me, I had gone red with embarrasment, and you had gone white." 

"I remember now," Gina smiled slightly. "And then you stayed red, and I stayed white for the rest of the day. We were back to normal by the following day, and for nearly a year, people called you 'Devil', and me 'Swanneck'." 

"We caused each other to change color. You were so angry with me you caused me to stay red, and I was so angry with you because I knew you'd made me red, so I made you white. Neither of us did so consciously, of course. Being so young, we couldn't control our magic." 

Forgetting that magic wasn't supposed to exist, that made sense. "And so you knew I was a witch then?" 

"I was pretty sure, but my parents weren't. They're a witch and wizard, my sister's a witch too, and I probably would be one then. And they pointed out I could have caused both. And afterwards, when things kept happening, we couldn't be sure if it was you, or if it was me. For instance, that time we were about to take the ITBS, and you lost your pencil, and you really didn't want to ask the teacher for one, and as your friend, I also wanted you to have a pencil. So when a pencil mysteriously appeared on your desk, I could be certain one of us was responsible, but I couldn't be sure which." 

Gina nodded her understanding of this, but had another question. "But why couldn't you have told me of the possibility?" 

"Because we can't have Muggles-non-magical people-knowing about us. They'd constantly want us to do things for them, and we'd never know a moment's peace. I had to fight with my parents so I could tell you now. They wanted you kept in the dark until you came over to my house this afternoon." 

If Aimie was crazy, Gina was thinking, her world of crazy was very well constructed. And now that Gina thought back to little occurances over the years, evidence was backing her story up. 

"Aimie Grove! Gina Livingston! Where are you?" They heard the teacher yelling. 

"Oh great!" They spent the next half an hour trying to sneak back into the building without being noticed out of bounds, which shoved everything Aimie had told her to the back of Gina's head. Dismissal Time 

Cheering at the top of thier lungs, the students left thier elementary school for summer vacation. 

"Aimie! Gina!" yelled the teacher. "Stay behind!" 

The two girls did not obey. They pushed along the throng of students and out the nearest doors. A student safety patrols stopped them. "Hey! You're on the grass!" 

"So are you." Gina pointed out. 

"I'm a safety patrol." He replied, as if that made him a king. 

"Well, you're not setting a good example," Gina retorted. 

"Hey, Aimie, Gina!" called one girl. "The teacher wants to see you!" 

"Tell her we're never talking to her again!" Aimie yelled back, and the two girls bolted, delibrately staying on the grass, ignoring the safety patrol's yells threatening to report them. 

"I just hope my parents don't yell at me when the teacher calls home." noted Aimie as, still on the grass, they approached the Grove family jeep. 

"Stupid safety patrols!" sighed Gina. "And noone's forgotten that only a few years ago they beat an innocent boy with the help of some kids from that bad high school!" 

It was very common for either Gina or Aimie to spend the afternoon at the other's house, and none of the classmates found it surprising when Gina joined Aimie in her parent's old jeep. Those who noticed the presence of Aimie's older sister Sivitri reminded themselves that it was the last day of elementary school, and if a girl wanted to greet her younger sister on any day, that day would be today. The air of the students leaving, however, was such that most did not notice. 

"Your letter came," said Sivitri when the jeep had left the curb. She handed Aimie a heavy, old- fashioned looking envelope. Gina peered over Aimie's shoulder to read in green ink: Miss A. Grove   
The bedroom on the left of the second floor   
2014 Flowerpot Hill   
Alexandria, Virginia 

"If all goes well," Aimie told Gina, "you'll be getting one of these within a week. Can I show her the letter, father?" 

"Go ahead," said Mr. Grove. 

So Aimie read through the letter, then passed it to Gina. 

VIRGINIA HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY   
Headmistress:Eylse Delorum   
_(Eighth-rank Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Grove, 

Congratulations, you have been accepted at Virginia Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all nessecary equipment. Term begins on September 1st. We expect your owl by no later then July 31. 

Sincerely,   
Ethan Pont   
Deputy Headmaster 

They parked in the Grove driveway. "Wait here," Mrs. Grove ordered the two girls. She, Mr. Grove, and Sivitri got out of the car and went into the house. They returned carrying what looked like a short flashlight. 

"Hold this," Mrs. Grove instructed Gina. Gina did so. Mrs. Grove then pulled a long smooth stick out of her coat. She tapped Gina on the back of the neck with it and muttered something. 

Instantly Gina felt a shiver run through her, and the flashlight lit up brilliantly. Aimie cheered, and Mr. and Mrs. Grove looked very pleased. 

"You're as magic as they come," said Mrs. Grove, taking the flashlight back. "I'll inform the school." 

"And now that we know you're one of us," said Aimie excitedly, "we can show you the drakes." 

"The what?" repeated Gina. 

"Giant lizards with wings. Not as big as dragons, but still big. We breed them downstairs." 

"Wow." said Gina. September 1, somewhere in Western Virginia 

"Wow" was a word Gina had said a lot over the last two and a half months. She'd said it when they'd taken her down to see the drakes. She'd said it again when they'd ridden one far outside Alexandria where they couldn't be seen. She'd said it while watching Aimie replace the pictures on her bedroom wall(she'd originally put up Muggle ones after befriending Gina). She'd said it a dozen times while in Maxe Alley in Washington, buying supplies. She'd said it when they'd gone into the barrier at Union Station and emerged on Platform 2 3/4, then boarded a train which ran from Washington to the small village of Hogscavern, and also transported students and the beginning and end of terms. 

Now the train was coming to a stop at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. They heard a voice overhead:"Will those students starting thier first year at Virginia Hogwarts please put on thier robes and cloaks and disembark when the train stops. Leave your belongings on the train. 

"What happens now?" Gina asked Aimie. 

"I don't know," answered Aimie. "Sivitri never told me." Sivitri, as Head Girl, was up at the front of the train. 

The train stopped, and Aimie and Gina, now wearing robes and cloaks made out of deerskin, got out and walked to the front of the train, where a crowd was assembled. A middle-aged woman was trying to keep order. 

"Everyone here? You-" she asked lightish black boy, "You're from the back of the train?" "Yes," he called back. 

"Allright then, line up." And she formed them into a long snake-like line. While she did so the train started again, and by the time the line was finished it had dissapeared down a tunnel, the entrance of which closed after it, fitting into the mountain so well it was impossible to tell it was there, and it looked like the railroad track just ended abruptly. 

When they were all lined up, she pulled open a trapdoor, revealing a set of stairs going into the mountain. "Follow me." 

They headed down the stairs, which went first down, then started to go up. Near the top, they heard the sound of rushing water. The tunnel opened into cavern lit by torches. The cavern was spilt by a stream, that ran in through an archway and out through another archway. Boats were floating out of the first archway, and under the supervision of the woman, the students were climbing in two by two. 

Aimie and Gina got into a boat together. It followed the other occupied boats towards the second archway. It went under and everything was plunged into darkness. 

Then they emerged into twilight, for the setting sun was hidden behind high rock walls. The stream had become a river, and ahead of them the river rose, blocking thier path. None of the other boats were in sight. "I hope we didn't take a wrong turn," said Aimie nervously. 

The boat continued towards the rise, they began to ascend. "The water flows uphill!" exclaimed Gina in amazment. Aimie too was awed. 

Now they could spot the boats ahead, and looking back, they saw another boat emerge from the archway. The rock wall ended, giving a breathtaking view of the Appalachians and the last rays of the sun vanishing from behind the mountains. For awhile neither girl spoke. 

Finally Gina asked, "And what happens once we reach Hogwarts? Do you know?" 

"We're Sorted into Houses, of course," replied Aimie. "Like everything else, the House system is borrowed from the original Hogwarts in England. There are four of them, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and-and-I can't remember the last one. Everyone in my family's been in Gryffindor." 

"Everyone in your family's in Gryffindor." mused Gina. "Everyone in your family breeds drakes. Everyone in your family makes amazing acheivements, I mean, your sister's Head Girl! No offense Aimie, but I wouldn't want to be in your family. I could never be that good!" 

"Indeed." said Aimie. Gina could tell this was an issue Aimie was already dealing with. 

They descended with the stream, under another arch, and into another mountain. Then they emerged into a beautiful valley. One one side of it ran the train tracks, and they could make out in the fading twilight a platform where the other students had persumably gotten off. At the far end of the valley, they could make out a magnificent castle, built into the spot where two mountains joined. 

"That's the school." whispered Aimie. 

The other students were getting out of thier boats and heading for the castle, the ones who didn't know what direction to go in following the lead of the ones who persumably did. Aimie definitly knew. She leapt out of the boat and helped Gina out. The two girls ran across the lawn, thier cloaks billowing out behind them. 

Ten minutes later, pink and out of breath, they arrived at the front doors and found a crowd of students already assembled, and more on the way. A gruff-looking man shuffled them into line, counting them off. "Professor Pont." whispered Aimie. 

"Exactly how are we Sorted?" Gina whispered. 

"Sivitri never told me that either," Aimie whispered back. "I do know it's based on personality." 

Professor Pont counted off the last of the students, then led them inside. They had barely taken in the marvels of the Entrance Hall when those were set aside by the magnificent Great Hall. There were two rows of tables:one row of four where the students sat, and one long thin table where the teachers were seated. Professor Pont led the line between these two rows, and they came to a halt facing the students. On the ceiling, the moon and the stars shone down. 

Professor Pont drew their attention to a small stool with a really old-looking wizard's hat on it. "You will be Sorted into your four different Houses by going up to that stool when your name is called and putting on the hat. It will know where you go best." 

He pulled out a long scroll and started to read off the names. "Aart, Paul!" 

The boy who had been at the back of the train hurried forward to the stool, yanked the hat on, and sat down. "HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the hat. 

"Wow." muttered Gina. "But how does he know which table-" 

The answer was obvious, as the Hufflepuff table had all started clapping. 

"Bering, Daniel!" 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Sivitri's table applauded. They applauded even harder when "Blagon, Daisy" followed Daniel Bering to the Grffindor table. 

"Cadrick, Fabia!" 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

"That was the last one." whispered Aimie to herself. 

"Calmara, Patrick!" 

What's he doing here? Gina thought angrily. He had been at her elementary school too, and she hadn't liked him. 

"SLYTHERIN!" "He's a wizard too," Aimie whispered by way of explanation. "An annoying one, but there you go." 

How many students, wondered Gina, had been watched like she had, to eventually be whisked off here? How many were being right now, by best friends and such? How many Muggle children would go off to middle school to wonder what had become of classmates who were supposed to be with them but were not? She pictured the first day at the school she was supposed to go to in less then a week. Who would notice she was gone? Neither she nor Aimie had been part of the "in crowd". Would they be missed at all? 

"Grove, Aimie!" Gina was jarred from her thoughts. Aimie strode forward determinedly and jammed the hat on her head. She was going on bravado; Gina could tell she wasn't far from terror. 

"GRYFFINDOR!" Looking relieved, Aimie went to sit in the seat her sister had saved for her. 

"Hope, Samantha!" 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" 

"Iride, Stephen!" 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

"Lahner, Daucalion!" 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

"Lennew, Gertude!" 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

"Livingston, Gina!" 

How was this going to work? Gina and Aimie only had a limited amount of personality in common, What if she was put in another House? What if she got stuck in Slytherin with Patrick? 

The hat fell over her eyes. "Ah." She thought she heard it say. "A Muggle-born. Bit of a temper, lots of opinion...you want Gryffindor? Well...lets see...yes, I think I can give you GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindors all clapped. The Grove sisters clapped the hardest. 

A few minutes later, the Sorting had concluded, and the feast had begun. "Like it here so far?" Aimie asked Gina. 

"The food is good." answered Gina with her mouth full of mashed potatoes. 

"I've never heard the surname Livingston before." commented Daisy Blagon, coming to sit them. She was followed by Abby Ramm, who had also been sorted into Gryffindor. "Are you Muggle- born?" 

"Yeah." answered Gina. "No other Muggle-borns, I suppose." 

"My mother's a Muggle," answered Abby. "That count?" 

"There are probably Muggle-borns Sorted into the other houses," said Sivitri. "Except Slytherin. They don't like Muggle-borns. Don't ask me why." 

"Patrick was another wizard in disguise, I suppose?" 

"Of course." Patrick seemed perfectly at home at the Slytherin table. Now Gina knew why he had avoided her so much. When they went up to bed, she thought she saw Patrick point to her and scowl. Too tired to care, she, Aimie, and the other first-years followed Sivitri up flights on stairs, down winding corridors, and through several doors. They heard the sound of piano playing, and reached its source:a painting of a Victorian girl. She looked up. "Password?" 

"Will-o-the-wisp," said Sivitri. The painting swung aisde, and they climbed through a hole in the wall to a large room. Sivitri quickly directed them to thier dormitories. 

Up some stairs and finally into a room with four four-posters, nicely canopied. "Wow." 

"Are you ever going to stop saying that?"  [Continue...][1]

   [1]: hssd1.htm



	2. Harpy and Sunshine

Harpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and Devil:PreviewIzzy here, with my fanfic, "Harpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and Devil", the second(chronologically at least) sequel to "A Year to Remember". The first one's coming up too. Gabrielle and several of her relatives is Rowling's; Elaine, Aimie, and Gina are mine. Oh, and this contains lesbianism, but if you turn back because of that, my opinion of you will be very low. Harpy, Sunshine, Swanneck, and Devil By Izzy Part 1:Harpy and Sunshine 

England, August 2001 

Gabrielle Delacour had to admit, it was the most interesting wedding she'd ever been to. When Harry, now her brother-in-law, had gotten the invitation shortly after she'd arrived home from her fourth year at Hogwarts, he'd gone into fits of laughter. Then he'd explained to both Fleur and Gabrielle that noone who knew either Marcus Flint or Katie Bell while they had been at school would *ever* had expected them to get married. Gabrielle herself wasn't too surprised, since both were now playing for England. 

All of both the bride and groom's old friends had been invited, and were lined up on either side of the aisle. Gabrielle did not like the look of most of Flint's friends standing across from her. She did not recognize any of them except the Malfoys:Draco, Pansy, and a toddler with the Malfoy face and hair. 

He looked about the same age as Ron and Hermione's child, whose name had been the subject of much debate, before they finally named him Viktor. Of the other Weasleys, Fred was married to Angelina, but they had no children yet. And seeing, next to him, George arm in arm with Lee Jordan, had made Gabrielle grin. It seemed as if the twins were not exactly alike after all. Ginny was married to Neville and pregnet, and next to Percy Penelope was holding an infant. 

Gabrielle had an infant on her back, as did both her sister and her husband. It had been enough of the shock to learn over Christmas Harry and Fleur had had an eloped marriage, and Fleur was pregnet. And no sooner had they agreed to name it Sirius after Harry's godfather is it was a boy and Elda'an after Fleur and Gabrielle's Veela grandmother if it was a girl, then Fleur had given birth to triplets:a girl, a boy, then another girl, in that order. They'd named the boy on Gabrielle's back Sirius and the older girl on Fleur's back Elda'an, then Gabrielle had named the last girl on Harry's back Lily-Mirielle, after both her grandmothers. 

Here came the bride, flanked by Angelina Johnson, also known as Angelina Weasley, and Alicia Spinnett, who as far as Gabrielle knew was still single. Both the bridesmaids looked very apprehensive. 

The ceremony went on, and Gabrielle payed little attention, because something else was occupying her mind. On the other side of the aisle, there was a very attractive boy staring at her. Part of her didn't like that at all. Another part, the Veela part, no doubt, loved it. 

Fleur had warned Gabrielle that her Veela instinct might clash with her human heart and mind, but at least both parts of her sister were attracted to the same sex. But homosexuality didn't exist amoung Veela, and it did exist within Gabrielle. She'd only recently realized this, and could still recall the reaction of her dormmates. Though only the Muggle-born Olga Cartor was even slightly uncomfortable with the idea(and she'd said it was okay after half an hour of silence), the purebloods, including Elaine, had all been convinced that as a Veela hybrid, Gabrielle should go for the opposite sex. 

Gabrielle envied Elaine on the whole issue. She was quite straight, and was dating Fredrick Bolon. No fuss, no clashing instincts, nothing. 

The priest was wrapping up. The new Mr. and Mrs. Flint shared a kiss, and the boquet was tossed into the arms of Alicia Spinnett. The ceremony was over. 

With the boy staring at her the way he was, Gabrielle would have rather ditched the party and gone off to write to Elaine. But Fleur had told her quite sternly she was staying. So she wandered out of sight of the attractive boy, walking up to Penelope, who she had not seen since the beginning of her pregnency. 

She wasn't the only one. Penelope was showing her baby to a whole crowd of people. "Girl. Her name's Haven." 

"Excuse me." 

Gabrielle mentally cursed. The boy was standing right next to her. "Music's starting. Would you like to dance?" 

Gabrielle nodded, even though she wanted to shake her head. He'd been attracted so far purely by her good looks. Even as she tried to fight it, she instinctively employed Veela charm to entice him further. She wasn't sure how old he was, older then her, probably. They traveled past other dancing couples, including, Gabrielle noticed, Alicia and the best man, Terence Higgs. 

A few minutes later found them at the far side of the dance floor. "You're very pretty." The daze she'd inflicted was just starting to wear off. But too late, the spot they were in had several patches of darkness on the wall where a young couple could hypotheticly spend a minute or so making out without being discovered. "Thank you." Gabrielle said curtly. 

Her curt tone was lost on him, and she knew it. She glanced around hoping for someone to come to her resuce, but there seemed to be a wall of dancing Slytherins blocking off the rest of the floor. And as one part of her mind protested, another part moved them towards the nearest patch of darkness. Why couldn't the lighting be more thourough anyway? "What's your name?" 

"Ike Warrington." 

"Gabrielle Delacour." Strange, Harry had described Warrington as sloth-faced. Probably was only that particular Warrington. They reached the darkness, and Gabrielle thoughts were cut off when he kissed her. 

Well, kissed wasn't quite the word. Savage knawing was more like it. Thrills ran up and down Gabrielle's body as he pressed it against him. Then, from somewhere, popped the thought, _What am I doing?!_ A wave of revulsion replaced the thrill, and she pulled away. "Don't. I'm sorry...leave me alone." She wiggled out of his grip and ran. 

This was the second time this had happened to her. There'd been another boy, whose name she hadn't even found out, during a trip to Diagon Alley last month. She'd left him stunned, wondering if he'd ever recover. She knew her sister had left many such boys that way, and justified it by convincing herself they deserved no less. Gabrielle didn't want to do that. 

"Hey! Watch where'd you're going, half-human!" 

In her haste and horror, Gabrielle had tripped up Malfoy jr. Now his mother was staring angrily at her. 

Mrs. Malfoy scooped the boy up. "Oh, my little Pal, poor little boy!" 

Pal? wondered Gabrielle to herself. Still muttering, Mrs. Malfoy hurried off. 

But it was obvious "Pal" didn't like being carried by his mother. In no time he'd wiggled down and was running across the dance floor. Amused, Gabrielle watched as his hapless mother gave chase. Matters only got funnier when he ran into Viktor Weasley, who was also running amok. Mrs. Malfoy shrieked, grabbing everyone's attention, and also alerting her husband of the emergency. It also alerted Ron and Hermione. 

Bother fathers reached thier sons at the same time and began yelling at each other. Hermione picked up the startled Viktor, holding back laughter. Noticing this, Ron began to yell at Hermione. The two got into a full-blown arguement, while the Malfoys and thier son made thier way off. 

By the time Gabrielle had her laughter under control and calmed Sirius, who had started bawling, Ron and Hermione had forgotten thier arguement and were dancing together, Viktor held between them. The Malfoys had dissapeared and were, as far as Gabrielle was concerned, good riddance. 

Things went fairly well after that. Gabrielle retired to the refreshments table, where she had friendly conversations with two girls, then flirted with a third, freaking her out, but doing no permanent harm. Then Sirius got hungry, and she spent the rest of the reception looking for his bottle before furtively slipping him milk from her wand(after all, one could use magic if it was an emergency), then getting him back to sleep. 

The guests were starting to leave when her sister came to fetch her, and they joined Harry as they waited in line to use the fireplace, still in clear view of dance floor, where a few couples still lingered. 

"How long are they going to stay?" commented Gabrielle apon recognizing one couple as Ron and Hermione, with Viktor with his head buried in his mother's shoulder, undoubtably asleep. 

"Never mind them," replied Fleur, "what about them?" 

She was pointing to another couple on the floor. Looking closer, Gabrielle realized it was Terence Higgs and Alicia Spinnett. 

Harry saw them too. "Get ready to do this all again next year." he said. Bothnia Outpost, the Baltic Sea 

_Dear Gabrielle, _

Hi! How are you doing? The wedding going okay? No nasty run-ins with Mr. Flint's acquiantances? Please don't try to make a disturbance, Gabrielle.   
Things are okay here on this island, though the isolation does make me feel lonely. I just can't talk with my parents as well as I used to. They still think I'm dating Fredrick!   
Oh, but I didn't get around to that. We've broken up. Things were just going nowhere. Don't feel sorry for me, I'm okay. Besides, there are plently of other boys, and at least I've no competition from you. 

Here in her writing Elaine chuckled, recalling Gabrielle's announcement near the end of the previous year. That had been a real surprise. 

_I've been working on the Maruader's Map. I spent some time with Remus Lupin earlier in the summer, and he showed me how it's been charmed to record spellwords and where they are to be used, but that didn't help them get anywhere where passwords were constantly changed. I'm currently trying to figure out how to get it to do that. If I suceed, we'll be able to get anywhere in the castle. Don't worry about the Ministry, I checked it out, I'm using a loophole in that I didn't charm the object in the first place, I'm only adjusting it.   
Not much more to say, except I wish you were here. No, correct that, I wouldn't wish this place on you. I wish I was there. _

Yours ever,   
Elaine 

Elaine put down her quill, rolled up the letter, and attached it to the leg of Dolon, who had hung around after delivering Gabrielle's last letter. He flew off. Elaine heard her mother call her down for dinner. 

"Hi, honey." said Mrs. Sarpan, more reserved then usual. Elaine had been feeling the drift from her parents more then she would admit to anyone. Her mother was upset by her lack of enthusiasm for going to this remote island, but Elaine just hadn't wanted to go. 

She ate her dinner hastily, ignoring her parents talk, because it was about things she didn't understand, or simply didn't care about. Then she politely excused herself and hurried upstairs. 

She couldn't blame her parents for the split. After all, they didn't know her secret. If they saw her with a piece of parchment, they assumed she was doing homework. They wouldn't dream thier little girl wrote poetry. 

She didn't like this enviroment too much. The island was too barren, creative thought was just absorbed into the ground and never heard from again. Her parents had talked about the presence of magic here, but she didn't feel anything. 

Lazily she picked up her wand. It was ten and a half inches, tulip wood, and pheonix-feather core. She felt her fingers tingle and tried to think of how to describe the feeling. Her wand emitted blue and gold sparks. She ignored them. She's written about them already. 

It wasn't as if wizards and witches never were artists. There were plently of them. But most of them were Muggle-born or half-blood, or had Muggles in thier recent ancestry. It was something pure-bloods mocked them for, before hurrying to sample thier works. Her parents, while not as uptight as some families she'd met, would go into hysterics if they ever thought their daughter was an artist of any kind. 

Her thoughts were still getting nowhere when the owl flew in. Abandoning the persuit, she noted the Hogwarts crest on the envelope it carried. She ripped the envelope opened and read it: 

_Dear Miss Sarpan, _

This year, Hogwarts will be conducting an exchange program with the Virginia Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America. You have been choosen to participate in the program, and will be spending your fifth year at Virginia Hogwarts. A list of books needed for Virginia Hogwarts is enclosed, as is a permission form for the exchange program. Please have it signed and returned as soon as possible. 

Sincerly Yours,   
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress 

Ah, good, something I want to do the parental units will actually let me do! Elaine practically bounded out of her room and down the stairs. London, Later in August 

When her parents stopped to have a conversation with Tom the Bartender, Elaine decided she wasn't waiting around. She headed out of the Leaky Cauldron to the backyard, pulled out her wand, tapped the brick, and headed alone into Diagon Alley. 

"Ah, Elaine!" 

She first found herself intercepted by the new Quidditch captain, Benjamin Randall. "Hi, Elaine. Listen, I heard you're going on the exchange program-" 

"I am." She pushed passed him. She felt guilty for doing so, she cared for the other members of the team, but somehow her position of Seeker had been meaning less and less to her, something she no longer wanted to think about. 

To make matters worse, she next ran into her Chaser cousin, Alicia Spinnett. And she was accompanied by a blonde man Elaine was sure she'd seen on some Quidditch team. But then, Alicia knew Gabrielle's famous brother-in-law, Harry Potter. Perhaps Elaine could use her to find Gabrielle with. 

"Elaine, hello!" 

"Hi, Alicia. Have you seen Gabrielle?" 

"Yes, I have. She's in Flourish and Blotts, getting books for the exchange program." Gabrielle had also been selected to participate. 

"Thanks, bye." She was probably rude, for not asking who the man with Alicia was, but she didn't care right now. 

"There you are!" Her parents had found her. She listen to them scold her for about five minutes before they finally led her to Flourish and Blotts. 

"Elaine!" Gabrielle broke away from her sister and rushed over to hug her friend. 

But she was beaten to it by a young house-elf. "Miss Sarpan! Miss Sarpan!" 

Gabrielle laughed. "Elaine, meet Runny. He and his family recently started to work for us." 

"Family?" repeated Elaine. "House-elves don't have families." 

"Runny has a family," Runny told her. "Runny has a father and a mother and a little sister, and you know what else Runny has?" 

Once she had figured out what he had said(he spoke _very_ fast), she asked, "No, what?" 

"Runny has freedom! And Runny's father and mother and little sister have freedom too!" 

"Harry originally got Runny's father freed," explained Gabrielle. "He was involved in the chain of events that led to his mother being freed too." 

"Well, very pleased to meet you. I've got to get my books." 

"Runny has got them already!" Runny darted off, then returned a second later will a pile of books which he dropped in front of Elaine. 

Then her parents made thier way over. "Got all your books already? Good." They pulled her swiftly to the cash register. 

Elaine wandered off again though, trying to see who else was buying books in the section of the store set aside for the exchange. She'd just indentified Franklin Aither, a Gryffindor entering his seventh year, and Quiang Sai, a Ravenclaw in her year, when her parents pulled her out of the store. She listened to them lecture again about wandering off, and fret about her habit of doing so, getting an idea for a poem in the process. It would not be very flattering towards her parents. 

Then Runny was holding her again. "Miss Sarpan is not leaving so soon!" 

"What's that?" 

"Um, Gabrielle's house-elf." 

"Then could you get him to return to Gabrielle?" 

"Runny is sorry!" Next second, he was gone. 

Elaine was rather sad he had gone, she would rather have spent the rest of the day with him then with her parents. They were getting more annoying every day. 

And then, as if things weren't annoying enough, her mother said, "Say, isn't that the boy you like?" They'd run into Fredrick too. 

Elaine gave Fredrick a meaningful look, praying he'd get the message. He did, and quickly turned and ran away. "What's wrong with him?" 

"We had an arguement." 

"But you should work it out before going to America." 

"I don't care to." Elaine replied harshly. 

"Really, dear...." Great. Another lecture. 

Back at Flourish and Blotts, Gabrielle was just as displeased when she saw another person she recognized. Lindsey Aldant, a Slytherin in her year, was approaching the rack of books required for Virginia Hogwarts. Her eyes raised. "Harpy! What're you doing here?" 

"I'm on the exchange program." said Gabrielle proudly, ignoring the insult. "What about you?" 

"I am as well, what do you think?" 

"You? I'm amazed!" 

"So am I!" Gabrielle had to say, she was mildly dissapointed. Hurling insults at Aldant just wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Nor were the insults as creative from either of them. 

The other girl must have been thinking the same way, because she said no more, but turned and got about the business of getting her books. 

Having gathered her own books, Gabrielle was just turning towards the cash register when she was knocked backwards by Runny colliding with her. "Runny has done something wrong! Runny has done something wrong!" 

"Calm down, Runny! What happened?" 

"Runny did not want Miss Sarpan to go! So Runny went after her! And Miss Sarpan's parents have got angry!" 

"Oh, really? Then you've not done a thing wrong, Runny. Trust me." 

Honestly, what was with Mr. and Mrs. Sarpan? Elaine had complained about them in her letters, but it hadn't seemed nearly this bad. 

She paid for her books and walked outside, waiting for Fleur to make her own purchases. She then sat down and began reading about Virginia Hogwarts. Runny perched on her shoulder. "Mistress is not angry at Runny?" 

"_Au contraire._ I'm proud of you. What's more..." Gabrielle had considered this for quite some time, weighing to pros and cons, "if you like, you can come to Virginia Hogwarts with me." 

Runny's reaction was expected delight. "Runny can come?" 

Gabrielle nodded. "You just need to get there yourself. Fleur's having trouble mastering the sleep- spell nessecary to carry living things in my suitcases. Dolon can fly, but-" 

"Runny can get anywhere in an instant!" Runny reminded her. 

"Good then. And if you will be loyal to me alone, that's you, me, and Elaine, to perhaps form a trio of English and French bandits! Like the old Mauraders." 

"The Mauraders, Miss?" 

"Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. And Wormtail, but he turned bad later. The most adventerous students ever. Padfoot's Sirius by the way. And he says Elaine and I have the old maurading spirit within us." She held up her hand, concentrated, and turned it into a claw and back. "Harpy. Aldant uses it as an insult, but do think I should turn it around and use it myself?"


End file.
